Difference between revisions of "Courses at Universität Stuttgart"

Revision as of 14:27, 27 April 2016

Helpful Links

FUSION-EP: Curriculum and Exams

FUSION-EP: Syllabus

Courses at the Institute of Interfacial Process Engineering and Plasma Technology

Numerical Plasma Methods

Tought by the local coordinator Carsten Lechte for 2 h a week, covers basics of numerical modelling and integration. The lectures are rather mathematical while the exercises focus more on programming in Phython and can take up a lot of time. It is difficult to follow the lecture because of almost no explanations of formulas and in what cases to use them. The mark for the course however is determined fully by the final 30 min oral exam on the lecture material. Photos of everything on the board, textbooks and solutions to the exercises are on the course webpage.

Plasma Physics

Taught by Dr. Ramisch at IGVP and consists of the mathematical and theoretical basis of plasma analysis. Topics discussed are types of plasmas, charged particle motion in EM fields, particle drifts, fluid picture of a plasma, magneto-hydrodynamic equations, general plasma stability, calculation of first-order instabilities, and wave propagation in plasmas. In short, this course is a lot of derivations and long equations in many variables, making it difficult to follow and comprehend without hours of discussion. There is a 30 minute oral exam at the end of the semester which counts for 100% of the mark, as well as exercises which are required in order to take the exam. The course is very reasonable in terms of content and difficulty of concepts.

Fusion Technology

Plasma Technology

Taught by Prof. Lunk at IGVP and consists of an introduction to conventional and fusion plasma principles. Topics include generation of plasmas, interaction of plasma with matter, and fusion plasmas. Although the course is arguably the most interesting course in the first semester at Stuttgart, it is also extremely disorganized with no coherent structure, no textbook, and no presentation slides. There is a 30 minute oral examination at the end of the term which counts for 100% of your mark, as well as exercises every other week which are required in order to be allowed to take the exam.

Reflectometry Simulations with Phython

Supervised by Carsten Lechte, almost entirely independent work, structured by a list of tasks and some questions to be answered in the final report. Tough but good if you enjoy learning by doing yourself and programming.

Microwave Technology

Courses at the Physics Faculty

Microwave Technology

Started to be taught by Burkhard Plaum on the 2015/2016 course. Though the topics are likely to be changed in future years, according to him; these include: A basic treatment of waveguides, gaussian optics, components and devices related to microwaves, overview of antennas and interaction on microwaves with matter. The course includes exercises lectures carried out by a Phd. student which you must solve every two weeks. The exam is oral and easy going. Worth to take if your thesis is related with microwaves.

Condensed Matter

Taught by Dr. Keimer and/or Dr. Denninger, depending on the year and availability of the professors. This course covers a lot of topics concerning the basics of solid state physics, with a focus on the experimental procedures for examining the properties of crystalline solids. This course is taken with the international Physics Master students and they are a good source of information on general physics, in case it is required. However, as this is the case, the examinations are considerably more difficult and much more is expected from the students. Fusioneers are required to attend the exercise classes and do further reading on experimental papers related to this subject.

Advanced Experimental Physics

This is a full-year laboratory course, consisting of approximately 5 experiments per semester. The experiments are performed in groups of 2 and a group lab report, complete with background theory, procedure, analysis, and discussion, must be submitted 2 weeks after the completion of the each experiment. After submission, the lab tutor will arrange a meeting to provide and discuss corrections for the report and another 2 weeks are given to make the agreed corrections. Although each deadline can be negotiated with the corresponding lab tutor, this course will take up the majority of your time in Stuttgart. The lab topics will correspond to concepts discussed in Condensed Matter but will have little cross-application with fusion, and naturally, the cooler and quicker the experiment is, the longer it will take to write the report. This course is also taken with the international Physics Master students, so making new friends and teamwork is highly recommended.

Superconductivity

Tought by Prof. Martin Dressel, covers theories and models of superconductivity from early phenomenological approaches to BCS theory and Josephson effects. Lectures are well presented but long and the slides are mostly useless. Doing the homework requires some time and consulting other textbooks, attempting the majority of it is required to be allowed to take the 20 or 30 (?) min oral exam. The course assumes solid foundations in condensed matter physics and some thermodynamics and quantum physics. There is a second part covering technical applications, but the Fusion EP students aren't required to take it.

Other Courses

German Language and Culture

The only mandatory language course in Stuttgart lasts approximately 6 weeks and occurs entirely before the start of the university semester, typically from early September to mid-October. Although it is entirely possible to live speaking only English in Stuttgart, it is advantageous to know some in German, especially when paying at the supermarket, where they confuse you with questions about things you have never even considered. That said, this course also provides an opportunity for Fusioneers to meet people outside of fusion and develop connections before the real courses destroy whatever idea you had of a social life. This free time combined with the warm weather is also a good opportunity to explore and find out what you need to within the city and surroundings, like places to buy food, cool bars, how the transit works, etc. Most of the other students in the language course speak English and most are studying some form of science/engineering (so they will understand your twisted sense of humour).

The opportunity to continue German courses during the semester is offered for free to Fusioneers by IZ, the international centre of the university. However, these courses usually take place in the evening and are of much poorer quality than the intensive course.

Nuclear Reactor Design and Operation (in German)

Judging by the lecture notes a simple introduction to nuclear physics, especially stability and reactions, and an overview of engineering aspects of fission reactors. Applicable to fusion in so far as radioactive materials, breeding blankets, cooling and safety are concerned.